Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-06-13
THE HEAVENS OPENED
A MAGNIFICENT DISCUSSION By REV. DR..
TALMAGE
An Illustration Of A Bible StOry-Stsphen Gazing
Into Heaven-LOOking At ChriS-StOnsd
Stephen Ia His Dying Prayer Asleep
The Divine Shows Five Pictures.
Special Telegram to The Register.

saSes Ol scripture, alter which the cOngre
CATION sang the favOrite hymn: 'There
Rest for the Weary" The reveren,
doctors text was Acts vii, $3.50: "Be
hold, i see the heavens opened and the Sol
of Man standing on the right hand of God
Then they cried out with loud voice an,
stopped their ears, and ran upon him witt
one accord and cast him out of the city ant
stoned him and the witnesses laid dowl
their clothes at young mans feet, who's
nanse WAS Saul. And they stoned Stephen
calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus
receive my spirit. And he kneeled dow
and cried with loud voice: Lord lay no
this sin TO their charge. And when he haC
said this he fell asleep
The preacher said /:
Stephen had been preaching
\ ROUSING SERMON,
and the people could not stand it. The,
resolved to do as men sOmtimes wOulC
like to do in this day, if they dared, will
some pre-. cher Of ighteousness-kill him
The only way to silence this man was t.
knock the breath out him. So they rushed
Stephen out Of the gates of the city, anC
with curse, and whOop, and below, they
brought him to the cliff, as was the custom
when they wanted to take away life 10y
stOning Having brought him to the edg,
of the cliff they pushed him off, After ht
had fallen they came and looked down
and seeing that he was not yet dead, they
began to drop stones upon him, stone aftc
stone, stone after stone. Amid this hOrri
bic rain of missiles Stephen chambers NJ
on his knees and folds his hands, Will,
the blood drips from his temples to hi,
cheeks, from his cheeks to his garments
from his garments to the ground; and
then, looking up, he makes two prayers
one for himself and one for his murderers
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" that wa:
for himself. Lord, lay not this sin OF
their charge that was for his aSsaiants
Then, from pain from loss of blood, he
swOOned away and fell asleep.
want 10 show you to-day five pictures
Stephen gazing into heaven. Stepher
looking at Christ. Stephen stoned
Stephen in his dying prayer. Stepher
asleep.
First, look at
STEPHEN GAZING INTO HEAVEN.
Before yOu take a leap you want t,
know where you are going to land. Bcfor,
you climb ladder you want To know L
what point the ladder reaches And il
was right that Stephen within few mo
meutS of heaven, should he gazing into il
We would all do well TO he found in tn,
same posture. There is enough in HEAVIER
to keep us gazing. A man OF large wealtl
may have statuary in the hall, and paint
ings in the sitting room, and works of ar
in all parts of the house, but he has tn,
chief pictures in the art gallery, and there
hour after hour you walk with catalogue
and glass and ever increasing admiration
We'll, heaven is the gallery where God Ia.
gathered the chief treasures of His realm
The whole universe is His palace. In this
lower room where We stop there are many
adUrnments; teSSellated floor of amethyst
and blossom, and on the winding cloud
stairs are stretched out canvas or
which commingle azure, and purple, and
saffron, and gold. But heaven is the
gallery in which the chief glOries are
gathered. There are the brightest robes
There are the richest crowns. There arC
the highest eNhilaratiOns John says of it,
THE kings of the earth shall bring theil
honor and glory into it," And | see the
procession forming, and in the line come
all empires, and the stars spring up into
an arch for the hosts to march under
They keep step TO the sound Of earthquake
and the pitch of avalanche from the noun
tains and the flag they bear is the flame OI
u consuming world, and all heaven turns
out with harps and trumpets and myriad
voiced aCclamatiOn OF angelic dominion tC
welcome them in, and 80 the kings of the
earth bring their honor and glory into it,
Do you wonder that good people Otter
stand like Stephen, looking into heaven:
We have a great many friends there.
There is not n man in this house to-day 50
isolated in life hut there is
SOME ONE IN HEAVEN
with whom he once shook hands. As q
man gets older, the number of his celestial
acquaintances very rapidly multiplies. We
have not had one glimpse Ol them since the
night we kissed them gOOd-by and they
went away; but still we stand gazing at
heaven. As when some of our friends 70
across the sea- we stand on the dock, or or
The steam tug, and watch them, and after
while the hulk of the vessel disappears,
aud then there is only a patch of sail on
ky, and soon that is gone. and they
al. out OF sight and yet we stand look
the same direction; 50 when ouI
1. .ds 70 away from us into the future
world we keep looking down through the
Narrows, and gazing and gazing as though
we expected that,they would come ont and
stand on some evening cloud, and give Us
one glimpse of their blisstul and transtig'
ured faces. While you long to join their
companionship, and the years and the
days 90 with such tedium that they break
yonr heart, and the viper Of pain, and
sorrow, and bereavement keeps gnawing al
your vitals, you still stand, like stephen
gazing into heaven. You wonder
if they have changed since you saw them
last. You wonder if they would recog.
nize your face now, so changed has it been
with trouble. You wonder if, amid the
myriad delights they have they care a
much for yOu as they used to when theJ
gave you a helping hand and put theil
shoulder under your burdens. You wonder
if they look any older; and sometimes, in
the evening-tid when the house is al
uulet, you wonder if You should call then
hy their first name if they would answer
and perhaps You do sometime make the
experiment, and when no one but God and
yourself are there you distinctly call theil
names. and listen, and wait, and sit gaz
ing into heaven.
Pass on now and see
STEPHEN LOOKING UPON CHRIST.
Nv text says he saw the Son Of Man at tbs
right hand OF God. Just how Christ looked
in this world, Just bow He looks in heaven
we cannot say. A writer in the time o.
Christ says, describing the SayiOur's per
sOnal appearance, that He had blue eye:
and light complexion and a very graceful
structure; but l suppose it was all CUES
work. The painters OF the different age
have tried to imagine the features of Chris
and put them upon canvas; but We vii
have TO wait until with our own eyes We
see Him and with our Own ears We ear
hear Him. And yet there is way Ofsee
ing and hearing Him now. have to tel
you that unless you hear and see Chris
upon this earth, you will never see anc
hear Hin in heaven. Look! There HI
is. Behold the Lamb of God. Can yoT
A.. - AaN Nat-